Many GNR fans haven't given Chinese Democracy a chance because it doesn't feature Slash in the band.
After Appetite for Destruction, GNR lost drummer Steven Adler and rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. During the UYI tour, the band featured 3 new members, Gibby Clark, Matt Sorum, and Dizzy Reed. But they were still GNR. That changed in 1996 when Slash left the band. At the time, original bassist Duff McKegan was still in the mix, but to many fans it didn't matter. GNR was Axl and Slash, and when Slash quit the band, GNR was over.
You would think that Slash would be CD's biggest critic, but surprisingly Slash enjoyed the album and had some kind words for it in interviews back in 2008.
http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/gu...atement-172820
"I already listened to it," Slash revealed during a recent interview. "At first I thought that I would never listen to it until it's released, but someone handed it to me and I was in my car and I was like 'Okay, let's give it a try.'
"So I listened to it: It's a really good record. It's very different from what the original Guns N' Roses sounded like, but it's a great statement by Axl. Now you understand where he was heading all this time. It's a record that the original Guns N' Roses could never possibly make. And at the same time it just shows you how brilliant Axl is. So it was a relief for me to actually hear it."
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/sla...ct-axl-record/
Slash: It was the perfect Axl record — exactly what I would have expected from the final years of us working together, and seeing where he was headed musically. It's very heavy; sort of a dark, depressing record. He's ****ing phenomenal.